Military successes: Army, police have control over terrorism in Tunisia

Ahmed Adel

The security forces in Tunisia – from the army and the police – have achieved many major successes recently against terrorism, whether ISIS, al-Qaeda, or the terrorist Brotherhood, and restore security discipline in the country, which has suffered from the bitterness of extremism since 2011.

Thwarting terrorism

Since July 2021, the Tunisian state – under the leadership of President Kais Saied – has been trying to block the way for terrorists to return to the country again, in light of the Brotherhood’s control of the reins of affairs and the security chaos during their rule of the country.

In an official statement, the Tunisian police forces announced on Sunday, May 28, that they had thwarted an attempt by a number of terrorist elements to target a security patrol in the coastal city of Sousse, located in the center-east of the country, with an explosive device.

The official statement said that the police forces responsible for countering terrorism and organized crimes were able to thwart a terrorist plot targeting a security patrol in the Sousse region by detonating a remotely controlled explosive device, adding that an ISIS member was arrested.

Security control

At the same time, according to the Tunisian radio station Shems FM, an official in the Tunisian police revealed that the country has achieved many successes in confronting extremist groups since the Tunisian people’s revolution in 2011 against late President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, which had resulted in the security situation deteriorating and opened the way for terrorist groups to enter the country.

The spokesman for the General Administration of the National Guard, Brigadier Hossam El-Din El-Jabali, stated that the forces concerned with combating terrorism and extremism in the country since 2011 have managed to eliminate 100 terrorists and arrest 324 others after carrying out nearly 350 operations within the framework of combating terrorism and extremism.

Jabali confirmed that these numbers are in contrast to what the forces did in the Battle of Ben Guerdane, which he described as an epic war that resulted in the killing of a large number of civilians and the wounding of others.

Since 2011, Tunisia has witnessed many major terrorist operations, which led to the targeting of a number of the political elite in the security and military elements in the country, as well as foreign tourists who had tasted the bitterness of terrorism.

In recent years, Tunisia has been able to control the security situation and eliminate many of the prominent leaders of terrorist organizations affiliated with either al-Qaeda or ISIS, although the terrorist threat still exists. For a week, there have been fears of a resurgence of terrorism, although the Ministry of Interior described the operation as criminal.

Military development

After the 2011 revolution, the Tunisian army developed its scientific and logistical capabilities and experience in industrialization and warfare in partnership with the armies of a number of NATO countries, especially the United States, France, Germany and Turkey.

For his part, international counterterrorism expert Colonel Hatem Saber said that Tunisia has suffered from the bitterness of terrorism since 2011, in addition to the tensions that North Africa has witnessed since that time.

He confirmed in a special statement to the Reference that the attempts of the terrorist elements will not greatly affect the successes and efforts made by the army and police forces in Tunisia, noting that these elements are working to show themselves in the scene in Tunisia only and are funded by the Brotherhood.

Saber added that the army and police forces in Tunisia took control of the security situation in the country, which is evidenced by the terrorist elements resorting to hiding in the border area between Tunisia and the countries of the North African region to search for supplies and food. He explained that the Tunisian people reject the presence of these elements, calling in a number of demonstrations for the need to eliminate them.